The Internet is a global network of interconnected computers that allows individuals and organizations (collectively Internet users) around the world to communicate and share information with each other. The World Wide Web (WWW), also known as the Web, is a collection of information resources contained in documents located on individual computers around the world and is one of the fastest growing parts of the Internet.
Prevalent on the Web are multimedia Web sites offering and selling goods and services to individuals and organizations, i.e. Customers. Web sites may consist of a single Web page, but typically consist of multiple interconnected and related Web pages. Web sites, unless extremely large and complex or have unusual traffic demands, typically reside on a single server and are prepared and maintained by a single Hosting Customer. Menus and links may be used to move between different Web pages within the Web site or to move to a different Web site as is known in the art. The interconnectivity of Web pages enabled by the Internet can make it difficult for Internet users to tell where one Web site ends and another begins.
Each computer or server on the Internet is assigned a unique identifier known as an Internet Protocol (IP) address. A computer or server may host one or more Web sites. IP addresses are difficult to remember so a domain name service (DNS) associates Web sites' IP addresses with their corresponding domain names. This permits a Customer to enter an easily remembered domain name into a browser, and the browser, via the DNS, locates the unique IP address and thus the location of the Web site. Another advantage of the DNS is that the Web site may move its physical location on the Internet, i.e. receive a new IP address, but by making the appropriate changes in the DNS, the Web site may still be located using the original domain name.
Internet businesses, whether a natural person or a legal entity, are rapidly creating Web sites to take advantage of the growing number of Customers using the Internet and Customers' increasing willingness to purchase goods and services over the Web. Web sites created by Internet businesses may be reached by millions of Internet savvy Customers, thereby allowing Internet businesses to offer their products and services to a very large pool of potential Customers.
Some Internet businesses, typically larger more sophisticated ones, may provide their own hardware, software and connections to the Internet. However, many Internet businesses either do not have the resources available or do not want to create and maintain the infrastructure necessary to host their own Web sites. To assist these Internet businesses in operating their Web sites, many companies (known as Hosting Providers) are offering hosting services for Web sites. Hosting Providers typically provide the hardware, software and electronic communication means necessary to connect multiple Hosted Web Sites to the Internet. A single Hosting Provider may literally host thousands of Web sites on one or more Hosting Servers.
After a Hosting Customer has purchased hosting services from a Hosting Provider, the Hosting Customer may want to utilize one or more applications (software programs or Internet services) in conjunction with their Hosted Web Site. The Hosting Customer may also want to read reviews or ratings regarding the applications they may want to purchase. Thus, a Hosting Customer may have to visit an independent Web site to read independent reviews of the application, a second Web site to purchase the application from a distributor of the application if they liked the reviews, and then a third Web site to try to install or make the application available for their Hosted Web Site.
In purchasing the application, the Hosting Customer may have to purchase the application stored on one of the many known types of storage mediums, such as a floppy disk, Compact Disk (CD) or DVD. The purchase may take place over the Internet and the Hosting Customer may have to wait for the application to be shipped to their address. Alternatively, the Hosting Customer may go to a local computer store and purchase the application. A faster approach is to have the application downloaded from the distributor's Web site to the Hosting Customer's computer. Once the Hosting Customer has the application (either stored on a storage medium or as a file loaded on the Hosting Customer's computer) the Hosting Customer may use File Transfer Protocol (FTP) to load the application to the Hosting Customer's Hosted Web Site.
This process may have to be repeated for each application the Hosting Customer may want to use with its Hosted Web Site. Hosting Customers have the additional problem of not having any assurances that the application they purchased will be compatible or usable by their Hosted Web Sites until after they have tried to use it.
The developers and distributors (hereafter distributors) of applications also have problems in providing information to the Hosting Customers and in making it easy for the Hosting Customers to use their products with the Hosting Customer's Hosted Web Site. Unless the Hosting Customer happens to visit the distributor's Web site, many Hosting Customers may not even be aware of the distributor's application(s). The distributors also, since they do not have access to the Hosting Customer's Hosted Web Site, are not able to automatically install or make available their applications to the Hosting Customer, making the process of using the application more complicated.
Hosting Providers have their own set of issues. Hosting Providers want their Hosting Customers to be satisfied with their hosting services. To increase the level of satisfaction with their services, Hosting Providers want to make as many quality applications available to their Hosting Customers as possible while ensuring that the applications are compatible with the infrastructure supporting the Hosted Web Sites. Hosting Providers also want to ensure that the applications will not cause other problems for themselves or their Hosting Customers. Hosting Providers may also want to make additional revenue when their Hosting Customers purchase applications or through advertising on their Web sites.
Therefore, new systems and processes are needed to assist in the exchange of information among and between the Hosting Provider, Hosting Customers and distributors of applications. In addition, new systems and processes are needed to make it easier for a Hosting Customer to research applications, purchase applications and then to make those applications available for use by their Hosted Web Site. In addition, new systems and processes are needed to ensure that applications purchased and utilized by Hosting Customers are compatible and will not cause problems when used by their Hosted Web Sites.